Face bleaching

This little box is made of brass, (state the obvious), but it is made in a particular way. The brass was cast in a sand mould many years ago in the far east. If you enlarge the image you can still see traces of the sand mould and file marks from the original maker.

What makes this interesting to me is the history behind it's construction. Tomorrow I'll photograph the full set, but this, the smallest box, is by far the most interesting because it tells us something about another time and place.

As part of a makeup/jewelery dressing table set it formed an important part of an Asian lady's toilette. This box contained a bleaching agent for skin, intended for the face. I originally thought the paste must have been extremely toxic, but perusing the attached web page has made me reconsider. Bleach